Namaz row: ABVP chants Hanuman Chalisa at Lucknow University, demands 'shuddhikaran'

Lucknow, Feb 24 (PTI) Protests erupted at the Lucknow University campus on Tuesday after members of the RSS-backed ABVP gathered near the Lal Baradari complex, reciting Hanuman Chalisa and demanding “shuddhikaran” of the site where namaz was offered a few days ago.

According to officials, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists raised slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" while marching towards the mosque within the Lal Baradari complex. Visuals showed police repeatedly stopping the protesters from advancing further.

The protesters later sat on a road in front of the mosque and began reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, demanding "shuddhikaran" (purification) of the place where namaz was allegedly offered a few days ago.

Police intervened and detained around seven to eight protesters as a precautionary measure.

They were initially seated in a bus parked on the campus and later taken to Hasanganj police station, where further legal formalities were carried out, a police officer told PTI.

He said the detentions were made to prevent escalation and maintain peace on the campus.

Nearly a dozen youths affiliated with various student organisations were also bound down during protests on Monday to ensure the situation did not turn serious.

Videos from the spot showed some protesters being forcibly removed by police personnel.

A senior police officer present at the university said, "As of now, we are handling the situation. We will update you about the future course sometime later." Lucknow University Proctor Rakesh Dwivedi said, "We are talking to students and will sort this out." On being asked about the namaz controversy, he said, "We have provided everything about the (namaz) controversy to the police." When asked whether this meant that police were seeking registration of an FIR against those who offered namaz, he said, "It is for the police to do their part. We have cleared our position in writing to the police on the subject." Security arrangements around Lal Baradari had already been tightened, with police personnel routinely deployed in the area, officials said.

The atmosphere on the campus returned to normal by Tuesday afternoon, they added.

The protest comes a day after members of the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha, National Students' Union of India (NSUI), and All India Students' Association opposed the university administration's move to seal the entry gates of Lal Baradari, which houses a mosque.

The situation briefly escalated when activists of some right-wing groups reached the spot and raised religious slogans, prompting sloganeering from the other side.

NSUI's Uttar Pradesh unit vice president Aryan Mishra alleged that the mosque inside Lal Baradari was locked on Saturday and claimed that Muslim students had been offering namaz there for years.

He said namaz was offered on Sunday evening under the watch of NSUI volunteers.

An ABVP office-bearer earlier warned that if namaz was permitted on campus, they too would recite the Hanuman Chalisa.

University officials have said Lal Baradari, a historic structure on the campus, was declared a restricted zone after a portion of its wall collapsed recently.

The building, which earlier housed the teachers' association office, a bank, a cafeteria and a staff club, had been vacated years ago due to its fragile condition.

Police and Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) deployment continued on the campus to prevent any untoward incident, an official said. PTI KIS OZ OZ